A Clawfully Tangled Situation
by skywings1416
Summary: Eugene Fitzherbert is allergic to cats. Who knew? SUPER FLUFFY! And I don't mean because of the cats... maybe I do. One shot.


**So...yeah, summary pretty self explanatory. It's cute an gives you warm fuzzies. Enjoy.**

A Clawfully Tangled Mess

Rapunzel padded down the halls of the palace. She was grinning to herself as she went, thrilled with her surprise for Eugene. She'd found a basket full of kittens and she could not wait to show the adorable balls of fur to her husband.

She found him in the library, sitting in a plush chair reading a book. One of his legs was slung over an arm. She hid the basket behind her back.

"Eugene," she sang. He looked up and smiled.

"Hello, beautiful wife."

Rapunzel giggled.

"Eugene, guess what I have behind me back."

Eugene set his book down and sat correctly in the chair.

"Mm, is it a bouquet of flowers?"

"No."

"Is it a book?"

"No."

"Is it something naughty?" he asked with a smolder.

"Eugene!" He grinned. "One more guess," Rapunzel told him.

"Is it…." Eugene paused to rub his nose. He also blinked his eyes, like he'd gotten dust in them. "Pascal?" He sniffed, like he was trying to clear his nostrils.

"No. It's… a basket full of kittens!" Rapunzel gently swung the basket around and showed the mewling little darlings to Eugene.

His face sagged in horror, then scrunched and squinted.

"Rapunzel, I'm aler-ler-er-er-gii-icACHOO! ACHOO! ACHOO!" Eugene went into a very loud, very animated fit of sneezing. "To cats!"

Rapunzel sat in front of her parents on a sofa in her father's office. The kittens were still in their basket, still mewling and crawling over one another. She sat like she had been scolded, but really, she just felt so bad because she'd made Eugene feel awful. He stood behind the other sofa that the king and queen were sitting on, a kerchief to his ruddy nose. His eyes were red and swollen and he still sneezed.

"Bless you," said the queen for the tenth time.

"Blank bloo."

"Now, Rapunzel," said the queen in her most motherly fashion, "even if Eugene wasn't allergic to cats-"

"GA-CHOO!"

"Bless you," said the king for his wife.

"Blank bloo."

"You simply can't keep cats in the palace."

"But why?"

"ACHOO!"

"Your husband's allergy isn't enough?" asked King Nicolas.

"But I don't even know what an allergy is."

"Ga-ah-ah-ah-CHOO!"

"Bless you."

"Blank bloo," Eugene sniffed. "Rabumzal, an alerby is sorba like a sickness. Remembler when you caught a colb?" Rapunzel was finding Eugene very hard to understand.

"Um… yes."

"And blo you remembler how awful bloo felb?"

"Yes." The more Eugene spoke, the more Rapunzel wanted to laugh. He sounded very silly with a stuffed up nose.

"Well-ACHOO! Uh, excuse me." His nose honked as he blew it. "An alerby is like blat, blut da symbtoms are comblebely dibberent."

"Oh. Well, besides that," Rapunzel said, inching off the edge of her seat to cuddle a particular kitten with a brown patch over its eye, "why can't I keep them?" She rubbed the patch-eyed kitty against her face.

"Rapunzel," said Isabelle again, "pets are fine, but this many in the palace, they would run amok."

"I would take care of them."

"Rapunzel, sweetie, even you can't look after an entire litter of kittens," said the king kindly.

"Eventually, they would get out and their clawing would ruin furniture, curtains, not to mention they could potentially hurt occupants of the palace with their claws. They would get into the kitchen and all other sorts of places and get under foot. They could even be injured themselves, and you wouldn't want that for them, would?"

Rapunzel slumped in her seat.

"No." She looked back at her mother. "I can't keep even just one?"

"I don't think so. Not with Eugene-"

"GAHG-CHOO!"

"Bless you, being so severely allergic to cats."

Rapunzel put the patch eyed kitten back in the basket with his brothers and sisters. She looked so crestfallen. Eugene could barely stand her sad face.

"Hey, I'm on your sibe, Rabumzal." Eugene came around to the table to starch the ears and tummies for the fluffy kittens. "Dey are inreblibly cute – GACHOO! An I really woubln't be opposed to keeping ome, but, ge-ga-gi-GACHOO!" He blew his nose into his well used handkerchief. "I cam'bt sbenb de resb ob my life sneebzing. I meanb, I coulb, but I woubln't be verby habby. ACHOO! You knowb whab I meanb?"

Rapunzel sighed.

"Yes." She looked up at her husband. "I'm sorry, Eugene."

"Bloo dibn't knowb."

"Still." She kissed his cheek in apology. She picked up the basket and stood. "But these little guys were abandoned. They need homes; what am I supposed to do with them if I can't keep them?"

"Well…" The king and queen looked at one another.

"Oh, Blonblie, der are blenty of bleble who woulb lob a libble kibby cat." Eugene held up a hand and counted off. "Der's de miller to keeb de mice out, de fish merchant to eab de lefb ober fish, nob to mention de orbanage. Kids lob animals. Der mighb even be bleble on the way who woulb like a cat." Eugene put am arm around his wife's shoulders. "Come on, leb's go see about homes for dees libble guys."

In the end, the miller took three of the kittens, the orphanage took two and an elderly man took one to keep him company. During the crusade to shelter the little creatures, Eugene's allergies got so bad no one could a word in because his sneezes were filling too much of the conversation air. He went back to the palace to put his head over a boiling pot of water to decongest himself.

Rapunzel wandered back to the palace late that afternoon, triumphant, but sad. She really wanted to keep all of the kittens. They were just so cute. Pascal patted her head sympathetically.

"It's okay, Pascal. I still have you, Eugene, and Max. I'm okay."

Rapunzel found Eugene in their rooms, de-clogged and sneeze free, but his eyes were still a tad bit red.

"Did you find homes for all of them?"

"Yes." Rapunzel couldn't hide her sadness. Eugene put his arms around her.

"I know. I liked them too." Eugene sniffed his nose. "Rabumzal." He looked down at her as he crossed his arms.

"What?" asked Rapunzel innocently.

"Bloo knowb whab." Eugene tapped his foot as he cocked an eyebrow at her. Rapunzel smiled sheepishly at him and pulled the little patch eyed kitten from behind her back.

"But he's so cute, with his little paws and ears and he has the cutest mewl. Are you sure you aren't allergic to just one kitty?"

"Yes."

"But no one wanted him, Eugene. Everyone kept calling him the runt of the litter. They said he too small, but he's perfect." Rapunzel looked pleadingly at Eugene. "Please."

"Bloo knowb I woulb say yes, blut, I jusb canb – ACHOO!" Eugene fished in his pocket for his kerchief.

"But I already named him."

"Bloo bib, bib bloo? Whab?"

Rapunzel grinned.

"Flynnigan Rider."

Eugene let out a nasally laugh.

"I bink ib suibes him." Eugene tickled his finger over Flynnigan's belly. The kitten decided to attack it, biting Eugene's finger with his little teeth. "Haha, fiesby, isn'b he? Well, ab leasb he libs ub bo his namb." A thought crossed Eugene's face. "Dlo bloo bink Max neebs a lieublenant?"

"What?"

Eugene grinned down at Rapunzel with an idea twinkling in his puffy, red eyes.

"Leb's go see our fabrite horse."

And every time Rapunzel and Eugene visited Max, Eugene just dealt with the sneezing brought on by Flynnigan Rider the cat.


End file.
